chsdbacks Chapter 81 Dangerous Land
Chapter 81 Dangerous Land
As darkness fell, Zhang Niu rallied his spirits and continued his search. He hadn't eaten lunch and had been walking for hours deep into the mountains. His stomach was growling loudly.
"Let's take a break. If we keep going like this, we won't find King Kong, and we'll be exhausted first." Leaning against a big tree, he breathed heavily. Those guys are really professional at walking; they kept causing Zhang Niu to get lost behind them.
The red-haired man and his companions cleared a space in a sheltered spot. The second brother rested against a tree, while the others went out to gather firewood.
He lit a cigarette; although fire was forbidden in these mountains, they didn't seem to care. He took a deep drag of his cigarette, watching the blood seeping from his legs.
They returned quickly after gathering firewood. The third brother, the sharpshooter, came back carrying several grayish-brown pheasants.
Everyone sat around the fire. Several pheasants were roasting over the fire. The red-haired man kept smoking. "Tomorrow we'll take a detour back. The second brother's leg injury can't be delayed any longer. Everyone, please give your opinions." He looked at everyone, wanting to set an example.
The sharpshooter, the second one, said, "I agree. There's no rush to go hunting in the mountains; we can do it next time."
The one-eyed fifth brother, who was adding firewood nearby, said, "I agree. Without the second brother's experience, it would be difficult for us to travel in the mountains."
"agree"
"agree"
"agree"
They knew very well that without this second brother, they wouldn't dare come to these mountains again. The second brother was known as the "encyclopedia," and he always returned from the mountains laden with treasures, so everyone knew how important he was.
"Thank you all for your understanding." Hearing everyone agree, the second brother really wanted to go back and stay in these mountains for a few more days; his leg was practically useless. It was a pair of trousers, and even this tough guy couldn't help but cry out in pain.
Looking at the people in front of him, although they had been together for a long time, if he hadn't had some hiking knowledge, they probably would have been left behind in the mountains long ago.
This doesn't concern them much. Last year, their second-in-command was in a remote forest somewhere, making a fortune.
Zhang Niu leaned against a tree to rest for a while. He stood up and decided he needed to get something to eat. Unfortunately, he hadn't grown any fruit in his own space; the fruit he'd just picked was still in bloom. He'd have to rely on the wolves for now.
The wolf acted swiftly, returning shortly with a dead rabbit in its mouth. Zhang Niu gathered a lot of firewood outside, then led the wolf, Erlang, into the spatial dimension.
The cycad that used to be only as tall as my navel is now almost up to my chest, and the bulb at the bottom is nearly the size of a washbasin. Wow, it's growing so fast in here! I wonder when it will flower. The cycad outside my house, although I water it too, isn't growing as vigorously as this one.
Skinning the animals and starting a fire is very simple; even the bees in the distance, seeing the firelight, fly far away to the trees. Firelight is what they fear most.
The golden-brown roasted rabbit's juices dripped onto the fire, causing the flames to hiss and rise significantly. A tantalizing aroma filled the air, and the little one had already run down. He'd been talking to the red bees for a while now.
He tossed the rabbit head and some other meats to the wolves. He tore off a piece of breast meat and placed it on the little one's outstretched paw.
Although the rabbit meat was delicious, I didn't really taste anything special. I was still worried about King Kong and wondered how it was doing.
With his belly full, he led the wolves out. While they rested for the night, he continued on his way, thanks in large part to his keen eyesight.
Zhang Niu encountered quite a few troubles as he made his way through the darkness. Fortunately, summer hadn't arrived yet, otherwise he would have had to be extremely careful, especially with the venomous snakes. No wonder those guys chose this time to enter the mountains; they were indeed shrewd.
The road ahead began to blur. Now it was pitch black, and as I parted the branches of a roadside tree, a buzzing sound rang out—oh no, it was hornets.
A beehive was lodged in a tree branch lying across the path. Slow to react, Zhang Niu was stung on the neck and ducked to avoid it. The little creature in the space darted out. It spotted the wasps behind it immediately. With a whoosh, it darted to the branch and swatted down the beehive with its claws.
The wasps chasing Zhang Niu immediately turned back. A large black wasp emerged from the hive after a few quick pats with its tiny paws. The emerging wasp immediately buzzed around the little one, and the wasps that had flown back stopped as well.
I'd completely forgotten that the little one could talk to wasps. Looks like people forget everything when they're in a rush. I spat out some saliva and gently rubbed it on the sore spot on my neck; it seems I've been stung again.
Zhang Niu, who turned back, wasn't stung by any more wasps. Looking at the broken branches beside the tree, he thought, "These guys are really something. They even placed a wasp nest on the road to prevent anyone from following us. They're really vicious." If it weren't for his little one, he would have been stung to death in these mountains.
Zhang Niu was furious just thinking about it. These poachers are all bad people.
After a brief conversation, Zhang Niu came to this conclusion about Little Dot. A swarm of black wasps buzzed and followed Little Dot.
Even Zhang Niu himself felt a chill run down his spine at the sight of the swarm of wasps in front of him. Large black wasps circled around the little one.
The wolves that had run far away earlier also returned. Although wolves are powerful, facing thousands of them was still quite a challenge. They came running back as soon as they saw their owner was alright.
The little thing stretched out its paws forward, and the wasps in front of it flew forward.
Could it be that they're leading the way? If so, that would save a lot of effort. It's not easy for me to walk in the dark right now. Looking at the smug little one on my shoulder, I have to praise him.
Wasps led the way. Zhang Niu followed behind.
Zhang Niu didn't know how long he had been walking. He took out his phone from his bag and saw that it was already past 1 a.m. Remembering that he had music playing on his phone, he quickly silenced it.
Suddenly, I noticed the overgrown weeds ahead were a mess. Looking down, I could see specks of blood on the blades of grass. It looked like human blood. Could someone among them be injured? Could King Kong have been murdered?
I stood up. Seeing the bloodstains, I figured the people ahead couldn't be too far. Following this path, I should find them quickly.
Zengzeng climbed a big tree, and Zhang Niu immediately saw the distant firelight. "Finally, I've found you guys!" The bright firelight was particularly conspicuous in Zhang Niu's eyes in the darkness.
Upon seeing the firelight, Zhang Niu immediately wanted to go check it out. However, he then remembered what the veterinarian had mentioned yesterday about a skilled gunman inside. He thought, "If I go up there like that, I'll be riddled with bullets." He added, "It's normal for someone to die in the mountains; after a few days, they'll become nature's fertilizer."
Sitting on a branch, I pondered what to do. Judging from the footprints, there were quite a few people. Some of them probably had experience hiking in the mountains; otherwise, placing a hornet's nest on a branch wouldn't be something an ordinary person would do.
Zhang Niu considered many methods, but dismissed them all. Looking at the mountains before him, it seemed he still had to rely on them. Nature was always mysterious and boundless; it remained to be seen whether he could find such a perilous place.
We plan to detour around to the front of them and see if there are any natural barriers.
Zhang Niu took a long detour before finally getting in front of them. He was lucky; if he had been within 200 meters, the long-haired third brother would have heard the commotion. Otherwise, how could he be called a sharpshooter?
As Zhang Niu walked forward, it was the third brother who was on night watch.
As he walked, he suddenly felt his feet sink into the soft ground. He tried to lift his leg, but found himself unable to move. His body began to sink. Before Zhang Niu could react, the large wolf beside him grabbed his clothes and dragged him back up.
Sitting on the ground, panting, I looked around and saw a fairly large open space in front of me. A few large trees were scattered around, looking lonely in the darkness.
What was that thing that made him sink? Zhang Niu stood up and started walking around. After walking back and forth a few times, he suddenly slapped his forehead, clearly realizing where he was.
He took out his phone, squatted down, and used the faint light to shine on the spot where he had just gotten stuck.
Black, mushy mud. The scattered fallen leaves and weeds told me exactly where I was.
I recalled the stories of battles fought in the mountains in the past. The mountains are full of dangerous places, especially the areas where mountains are connected. In the past, they used this inconspicuous swamp in front of them to wipe out the enemy.
Before us lay the man-eating swamp that the village had spoken of, which the village elders had described as being located in a clearing deep in the mountains. They had warned villagers venturing into the mountains to be careful. Unfortunately, the elders couldn't recall the exact location.
He stumbled into the mud in the dark. It was fortunate that the wolves pulled him out; he was probably still on the edge. If he had gone any further, he wouldn't have been so lucky. But wouldn't it be too cruel to lure them all in? This was a treacherous swamp, a place that devoured people without spitting out their bones. Going in meant certain death, and he wasn't even sure if these were the people in front of him. If he mistook them, several lives would be lost.
While Zhang Niu was still pondering, the little creature on his shoulder darted off and ran towards the firelight. The large wasp beside him immediately flew away.
Zhang Niu wasn't worried about the little one going out. The Earth Release technique was only effective against large animals. So Zhang Niu also ducked into the bushes to follow and check.
The little red figure leaped swiftly through the woods. The third sharpshooter, on night watch, was wiping the dirt off his hands. He was just about to wake the fifth sharpshooter to relieve him when he heard a sound in the distance.
"Who's there?" The third brother, seeing the shaking branches, immediately raised his gun. He was ready to fire as soon as someone appeared. Just as the branches were shaking, a tiny red head popped out from the other side.
Just as the third brother was about to fire, he saw a tiny creature emerge, blinking its big, round eyes at him. The third brother was stunned. What kind of animal was this? It was so human-like! He should let the second brother come out and see.
He called out to his second son, who was still fast asleep. He told him that there was a little creature winking at him from the tree branches outside. After listening, the second son lowered his head and thought, "That thing you saw might be a strange beast from these mountains. Help me out to take a look." The third son, who didn't know what the strange beast was, followed him.
Helping the second child out, the little one hid in a tree, watching its second and third siblings from afar. It blinked occasionally and touched its head with its tiny paws.
If Zhang Niu saw this, he'd definitely say this guy's pretending to be stupid again. He's fooled quite a few people with this act.
"This thing must be a strange beast, probably just born. I never thought I'd encounter one on this trip into the mountains." If it weren't for my foot injury, I would have rushed over already.
The third brother, however, seemed a bit confused. "Second brother, what is this strange beast?"
The second brother smiled and said, "The strange beast is easy to explain. To put it simply, it's an animal with a spiritual nature that was nurtured by the mountains. You saw that guy's human-like actions just now, right?"
The third brother nodded. "Yes, I was wondering about that just now. That's why I came back to call you over to take a look, otherwise I would have shot him already."
"Good job this time, didn't fire recklessly. This must still be a cub. Otherwise, it would have run away long ago when it saw us, instead of still watching us from the tree." He looked up at the little thing in the tree.
The second brother's mind was now entirely focused on the little one. Actually, he often went into the mountains to catch exotic beasts. But in this day and age, catching them was easy; many people still didn't even know what exotic beasts were. Yet, on the black market, exotic beasts could fetch seven figures. He was pondering how to catch one, glancing at the third brother standing beside him. "Don't just stand there like an idiot! Go and call them all over. Without them, this guy is hard to catch."
The little one tilted its head in the tree, looking at the second oldest. It even hopped around on the branches a few times.
Zhang Niu gradually approached Lao Er's resting spot from the bushes. Huddled in the bushes, Zhang Niu finally spotted Lao Er under the tree. The white gauze wrapped around him was particularly glaring.
Zhang Niu lay motionless in the bushes, watching the little figure in the distant tree doing something unknown, while below were all the evil poachers.
Then I thought, if the little guy is so easy to catch, what kind of exotic beast would he be?
The guys who came out were all rubbing their eyes. The red-faced guy, in particular, muttered, "What kind of nonsense is going on in the middle of the night? Can't a person get any sleep?"
The other guys all had the same idea: since the second brother was staying up late, they didn't need to call them to keep him company.
The second brother turned around and looked at the complaining people in front of him. "I didn't call you up for nothing, look—" He pointed to the little red thing on the big tree in front of him.
"Hey. A little red monster!" The one-eyed fifth brother shouted loudly, afraid that others wouldn't know.
"Fifth Brother, what are you yelling about? Don't scare that guy up there away. Otherwise, you won't even be worth as much as it is when you sell it," the Third Brother said, stopping the Fifth Brother from shouting loudly.
Everyone fell silent upon hearing the word "valuable." The red-haired man was the first to ask, "Valuable, like that guy up there?" His face showed doubt.
"I know you don't believe me. You'll know what it is after I tell you." He let the fifth brother help him sit on a rock.
"That thing up there is the hottest beast on the black market, and it's not even an adult, it's a cub. Now you know how much this thing is worth!" He finished speaking and looked at them.
Zhang Niu, who was hiding in the bushes, also heard Lao Er's voice. He didn't expect that the little guy could be sold for such a high price on the black market. Rich people are different; they even paid money to buy this strange beast.
"What—this is a strange beast?" The red-haired man was the first to react, and he spoke haltingly.
"Is this what a monster looks like?" The young Xiao Ba looked at the creature in the tree, never expecting that this was a monster from the black market.
"Now you know what this guy in the tree is all about, right? And you were complaining that I woke you up." He looked at the money-grubbing eyes of everyone in front of him.
The red-haired man touched his nose. "Second brother is still the best. If we just took them out with one shot, how would we catch these monsters?"
"Yes. Aren't mythical beasts supposed to be intelligent and perceptive?" Everyone chimed in with their questions.
The second brother chuckled and said, "It's alright. If we can be confident about catching an adult, we have an 80% chance of catching a cub."
"Eighty percent? That means we're going to be rich!" Everyone exclaimed upon hearing that. That's a lot of money; we could probably live it up for months this year.
Seeing them shouting, the second brother was afraid of scaring the cub away. "If you keep talking like this, it'll probably run away on its own without us even needing to catch the beast." He then asked the red-haired man, "Is there any pork left from the domestic pig we killed this morning?"
The red-haired man nodded vigorously. "Yes, indeed. And let me tell you, that domestic pig is really fat, especially the meat." He smacked his lips, reminiscing about the taste of the roasted meat from that morning. With that, he turned and walked into the tent.
Zhang Niu heard every word the red-haired man said: "Domestic pigs? Aren't they just the ones from my own backyard? There's no way domestic pigs could appear in the mountains. It seems these are the guys in front of me." He clenched his fists, wishing he could rush out right now.
The red-haired man who emerged was holding a pig's hind leg. "Are you trying to lure me with this meat?"
"Yes, but the meat needs to be cooked to lure them. Beasts that eat raw food are generally more interested in cooked food. You guys hurry up and start a fire." Even without the second brother's orders, they were already busy. Looking at the little creatures in the tree was like seeing a fortune.
The second brother sat on the rock. His eyes became exceptionally fervent. With this cooked meat, he wasn't afraid you wouldn't come down. It seemed he already had the little one in the tree in his palm.
Zhang Niu lay there listening to every move. His eyes lit up – was this little guy going to lead them into the mud?
The group quickly grilled the meat. A red-haired man with cooked meat skewered on a stick approached. It was unclear who should be tasked with luring the meat next. The second brother would have been the most suitable if his leg hadn't been injured.
While everyone was still debating who should go, the little guy in the tree suddenly jumped down. "Watch out! That guy's coming!" the sharpshooter shouted urgently.
A loud "bang" rang out. The sharpshooter had already fired a shot from his rifle.
Before everyone could react, the red-haired man felt a gust of wind blow past him. The roasted meat he was holding was already at the little guy in the tree some distance away.
"Third brother, why did you fire that bird gun at the middle of the river?" The second brother knew from the gunshot that the third brother was out of his mind and dared to fire a gun and run away. What should he do?
"We thought that guy was coming down. We wanted to grab him by his legs while we were close enough to catch him alive," the third brother explained, shrugging his shoulders.
These words, if not spoken, would have been more serious than the red-haired man's anger flared up again. "Damn it, third brother, what are you doing? Don't you know that if the local militia attacks, they'll smash your hind legs? What price will you fetch then? Didn't you hear second brother say to lure them in? You pig-brain!"
When Zhang Niu, who was lying prone, heard the gunshot, he was worried that the reckless guy would be hit if he jumped down like that.
The little creature in the tree held the fragrant roasted meat but didn't eat it. Tears streamed down its round eyes. It chirped intermittently.
The red-haired man and his group below were left wondering what had happened.
From a distance, Zhang Niu peeked through the gap and saw the little one crying. He guessed it was thinking of the domestic pig. They used to play and cause mischief with that pig all the time. In the blink of an eye, the pig had become a steaming piece of roasted meat.
The third brother raised his turret and said, "Why don't we take advantage of this moment of sadness and fight it down?"
"Bullshit! Look carefully at what kind of gun you're holding. If it were any other gun, you would have shot it long ago without me having to tell you." The redhead retorted.
Just as the second brother was about to speak, he saw the little one jump down from the tree and hop forward.
"Quick, after them!" the red-haired man shouted immediately.
The guys didn't even grab their things and rushed off. They were familiar with the area, and besides, it was the middle of the night, so they weren't afraid of thieves.
Zhang Niu waited until they were far away before getting up, his clothes covered in leaves. He watched as the little one ran towards the muddy area and hurried after him.
Updated. I'm currently revising previous articles daily. Please forgive any inconvenience. I recommend a friend's novel, "Soaring Above the Heavens," it's very powerful, you should check it out.